Letter: What's up with Quinshad Davis?

Kerry Fair II

01/14/2012

We are constantly getting emails regarding recruiting but one player in particular has generated a ton of questions in the past few months. Gaffney's Quinshad Davis had a marvelous career and senior season for the Indians but his recruitment was somewhat of an oddity compared to others in recent years. Quite frankly most of those emails asked, "What's up with Quinshad Davis?" Our take inside...

First things first, Quinshad Davis was a man among boys during his career with Gaffney. His senior year was especially outstanding as he had over 2,000 yards receiving and won the Gatorade Player of the Year honors for the state while leading Gaffney to the AAAA Division 1 state title game where they lost to Byrnes.

Davis had one of the oddest recruitments I've seen during my time covering prospects here in South Carolina and Virginia while working with Scout. In my eyes early on he was a player that deserved early attention and offers. Talking with various high school coaches from around the Upstate during the past few years they too saw Davis as a prime candidate to be a major contributor on the D1 level early on.

Still Davis didn't get a ton of attention or offers early in the process. It puzzled me somewhat because he had all the intangibles that a lot of my friends who are college coaches loved with the exception of great speed. Still his numbers don't lie and neither does his size or hands.

So "what's up with Quinshad Davis?"

That's the question I've heard time and time again this past year. If I had a dollar everytime I heard that question I'd have a nice stash for a luxurious vacation to Hilton Head for a long weekend.

First off, Quinshad is a relatively quiet young man who didn't really relish the spotlight or media attention that others crave. The young man loves to play football and basketball and didn't want to focus on recruiting until he was done playing with his teammates. Is that wrong? No because it shows the kind of young man he is. He's not a "it's all about me" type of guy. Something that is actually not the norm nowadays sad to say.

The lack of offers early on for Quinshad had many speculating that he had academic hurdles to meet before schools would offer. Wrong! Davis is one of the top student athletes you'll find as an honor roll student. Offers from the likes of Wake Forest, an academic powerhouse, should have ruled out those thoughts or perceptions.

One thing that has come into play with Davis is the fact that he wants to stay relatively close to home so that his mother and family can come and watch him play. Schools like Notre Dame wanted to see if they had a chance but Davis politely said no thanks due to the logistics. The rides to South Bend, Indiana would have been a stretch for his family along with other schools like Ole Miss.

Gaffney fans and opponents know all too well what Quinshad Davis is capable of and other analysts are starting to see why I've been so high on him over the past couple of years.

Should Quinshad have more offers? Yes.

What hurt Quinshad Davis' recruitment? I won't say that things necessarily hurt his recruitment. He played his hand close to his chest and while he liked various schools he chose to let his body of work on the field and in the classroom do most of the talking. Davis wasn't talking much at all about recruiting every week during the season or off season.

What do you like most about Quinshad Davis' game and what he can bring to the college level? First off you can't teach size. Quinshad has always done a great job of utilizing his size to shield the ball from defenders and make plays. His route running has improved a great bit over the past few years. My favorite aspect of Davis' skills though are his hands. This young man will catch everything that's in reaching distance. 2,000+ yards receiving in a season especially when Gaffney has other viable options in their wide receiver corps is definitely a testament to his abilities.

Davis has finally started talking more about his recruitment with National Signing Day less than a month away. He's got a list of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Wake Forest right now. Who's in the lead in our opinion? Check out our premium message board to find out who's ahead currently according to our sources.